Billfold



United States Patent Olitice 3,162,227 Patented Dec. 22, 1964 3,162,227BILLFOLD Joseph Edwin Bakken, 212 State St., Crookston, Minn. Filed Get.15, 1962, Ser. No. 230,486 Claims. (Cl. 150--35) This invention pertainsto an improved billfold or wallet, and to the method of manufacturingthe same.

Wallets of the type used by men and carried in the inside breast pocketof a suit coat are presently in widespread use. Such wallets aregenerally manufactured from several cut pieces of material, such asleather or an appropriate thermoplastic sheet material, the pieces beingsewn or otherwise secured together at various points along the margin.The resulting, generally bilateral, wallet is commonly rectangular whenfolded, and has a plurality of pockets on the facing inner sides whichare covered when said facing inner sides are folded against each otherto close the wallet.

Such wallets are expensive to manufacture due to the necessity ofcutting and assembling the several pieces, some of which tend to besmall and irregularly shaped so as to form small pockets when assembledinto the wallet; and the waste resulting from cutting such irregularpieces tends to further increase the cost of the wallet. Furthermore,such wallets are often rather bulky and cause unsightly bulging of thesuit coat while in use, and they are generally found to beunsatisfactory for carrying coins unless formed with a pocket that canbe mechanically closed by means of a slide fastener, snap or equivalent.

Thus, itis a primary object of my invention to provide an improvedwallet of the type that is commonly used by a man in the inside breastpocket of his suit coat, which is thin when folded so as to benon-bulky, which is inexpensive to manufacture, and which is providedwith a plurality of large, regularly shaped pockets.

Another object of my invention is to provide such a Wallet in which oneor more of said pockets is suitable for carrying coins or other similararticles.

Another object of my invention is to provide such a wallet in atrilaterial configuration.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improved methodfor manufacturing such a wallet.

These and other objects of my invention will become apparent uponexamination of the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein: l

FIG. l is a front elevation of the flat, rectangular piece ofsheet-material used in my wallet.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view thereof when initially folded.

FIG. 3 is' a top edge view thereof, illustrated after being somewhatfurther folded.

FIG. 4 is a top edge View as in FIG. 3, with the wallet completelyfolded and ready for sewing, and

FIG. 5 is a front elevation of the folded wallet ready for sewing.

My improved wallet may be formed from a single rectangular piece orblank of sheet-material A, such as leather, thermoplastic or equivalent,as shown in FIG. 1, wherein the folds are illustrated by numbered,dotted lines. The various panels between the folds have also beennumbered, and it should be noted that all of the fold lines areparallel.

After cutting blank A, my wallet is formed by folding the blank alongthe indicated fold lines as is shown sequentially in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.Panel is folded forwardly at 11 until the front side of panel 10 liesagainst the left front side of panel 12; narrow panel 16 is foldedforwardly at 15 until the front side of panel 16 lies against the rightfront side of panel 14, and the adjacent narrow panel 18 issimultaneously folded rearwardly at 17 until the back sides of panels 16and 18 are together; panel 14 is folded forwardly at 13 until the frontside of panels 14 and 18 lies against the right front side of panel 12;panel 20 is folded rearwardly w1th respect to panel 18 at fold 19 untilthe back side of panel 14 lies against the left back side of panel 20;and panel 22 is folded rearwardly at 21 until the rear side of panel 22lies against the right back side of panel 20.

Blank A when folded as described is viewed in FIGS. 4 and 5, and theassembly is completed by sewing the folds together along lines 30 and 31as shown, or by fastening the edges or margins together by any suitablemeans. The resulting billfold has four regularly shaped pockets ofrelatively uniform size, including a pocket between panel 10-12, back toback pockets between panels 12-14 and 14-20, and a pocket betweenpanelsl 20-22. These are suitable for bills, check books, bank depositbooks, etc.

A special feature of my wallet is the self-closing pocket, suitable forcoins, between panels 12 and 14. The flap formed by panels 16 and 18,which is adjacent the opening of said pocket, tends to bear againstpanel 20 and close the pocket, thus permitting the use of this pocketfor carrying coins without risk of loss.

Although flap 16-18 is effective to hold the panel 12-14 pocket closed,I have found it desirable in some cases to increase the effectiveness ofthe ap through use of an elongated generally rectangular stiiener 25.This stilfener is preferably made of a resilient thermo plasticmaterial, and is assembled into the wallet as shown in FIG. 3. The leftedge of stitfener 25, as viewed in FIGS. l and 2, is fitted against fold17 between panels 16 and 18 and since it is somewhat widerthan panels 16and 18, a longitudinal fold 26 is formed in stitfener 25 adjacent fold15 between panels 14 and 16 as the wallet is folded for sewing. Thisstilfener tends to increase the pressure of flap 16-18 against panel 14,and provide the desired increased effectiveness thereof.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, I have shown fold lines 32 and 33, these being used tofold the wallet in the direction of the arrows shown in FIG. 4 forinsertion into a pocket in a coat or other garment. When folded, theback side of panel 10 lies against the left front side of panel 20,thereby closing the opposed open edges of the adjacent pockets formed byelements 10-12 and 12-14; and the front side of panel 22 lies againstthe back right side of panel 12, thereby closing the opposed open edgesof the adjacent pockets formed by elements 14420 and 20- 22. Theresulting pocket-size rectangular wallet is somewhat slimmer than manycomparable wallets presently in widespread use, has more pocket space,is convenient to use, and is inexpensive to manufacture.

What has been described is believed to be the preferred embodiment of myinvention, but it should be understood that various changes may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.Thus, I do not want to be limited to the specific embodiment hereindescribed, but intend the same to be merely exemplary, the scope of myinvention being limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A trilaterally foldable wallet comprising:

(a) A rectangular blank of sheet material having portions thereof foldedupon other portions thereof along fold lines parallel to the narrowdimension thereof to thereby form a pair of pockets on either side ofsaid blank with a central portion thereof common to one pocket in eachpair, the elongate open edges of the pockets in each pair being inopposed, adjacent relation, and the folded open edge 3 t f 'of onepocket being folded back upon itself to form an inwardly turnedresilient ap for holding said one pocket closed; andl (b) a stitenerhaving a resilienceV greater thanvsaid sheet material and a'.V widthgreater thanV saidl ilapinsertedinto the fold ofv said open edge portionof said onev pocket prior to the formation of' sa'i'd flap and effectivewhen folded"y intoV said: ap asy it is formed: to increasethepocket-closingfability off said iiap, saidz folded blank being sewnalong thev no11' folded' edges to cl'o'se the ends of ysaid pockets.l

2. A wallet comprising a rectangular blank ofI sheetmaterial havingAasmall dimension equal to the finished length of the wallet, said, blankbeing folded forwardly upon itself=at one end and forming a first'pocket-v on. one

Vside ofsaidblank, being folded rearwardly upon itself at: the other endand` forming ay second pocket Aon' the other side of saidV blank, andbeing folded on both sides of a central panel thereof andy formingthirdV and fourth pockets in back-to-back relation between "said*central panel' andthe'` folded end por-tions of said blank, each ofsaid pockets having elongate open edges defining its opening, theelongatelf'open edges ofk said first and third pockets, and ofsaidsecond and fourth pockets, being in opposed adjacent relation,said'folded blank being4 sewn along its longitudinal edges to therebyclose the Y pockets, and -off said second and fourth pockets, being inopposed adjacentfrelation', said/folded blank being secured along itslongitudinalr edges to thereby close the ends of said'pockets and form atri-laterallyy foldable wallet wherein the' pockets are regular inlshape and of uniform size.

5. A wallet comprising a rectangular blank-v of sheet,-

material' having a smallfdimension equal to the finished length of thewallet, said blank being folded forwardly upon itselfat onev enclv andforming a first pocket on one side ofV said blank, being foldedrearwardly upon itself at the other. end: and forming a second pocket`on the other side of fsaid blank andbeing folded on both sides of a1central. point` thereofY and' forming,` third; and' fourth `pockets, inback-to-back relation between said,` central f point. and the folded endportions of said'blank, each of ends of said: pockets andy form atrilaterally foldable wallet Whereinithe pockets are regular in shapeand of uniform4 size. i a

3. A walletI asv claimed in claim 2' wherein thefopen edge portion ofsaid third` pocket is folded back upon itself-:to forman inwardly turnedresilient flapwforholding said third: pocket closed, and additionallycomprising a` stiffener having a resiliency greaterthan the resilienceof saidvv sheet-material and a width greaterthan said; ap, inserted intothe fold of said open-edge portionA of said third pocket andy 'effectivetoincrease the,-

pocket-closing ability of said flap.'V 4*. A walletcomprisingarectangular blanklof sheet;- material havingl a small dimensionv equaLtpthe finished said fpo'ckets havingl elongate openedges defining itsopeningvthe elongate open edges offsaid first andA thirdy pockets, andofsaid/second and fourth pockets, being in, opposed adjacent relation,said folded blank being `secured along its longitudinal. edges tothereby close the ends of! saidpockets and; form a. trilaterallyfoldable walletI wherein the:v pockets are regular in shape and ofuniform size. 1 Y

References Cited by,l the Examiner UNITEDl STATES, PATENTSl 1,269,245/`6/18; Aslin 150,- 38 FRANKLIN 'TL Pmm'yExamz'nlen

1. A TRILATERALLY FOLDABLE WALLET COMPRISING: (A) A RECTANGULAR BLANK OFSHEET MATERIAL HAVING PORTIONS THEREOF FOLDED UPON OTHER PORTIONSTHEREOF ALONG FOLD LINES PARALLEL TO THE NARROW DIMENSION THEREOF TOTHEREBY FORM A PAIR OF POCKETS ON EITHER SIDE OF SAID BLANK WITH ACENTRAL PORTION THEREOF COMMON TO ONE POCKET IN EACH PAIR, THE ELONGATEOPEN EDGES OF THE POCKETS IN EACH PAIR BEING A OPPOSED, ADJACENTRELATION, AND THE FOLDED OPEN EDGE OF ONE POCKET BEING FOLDED BACK UPONITSELF TO FORM AN INWARDLY TURNED RESILIENT FLAP FOR HOLDING SAID ONEPOCKET CLOSED; AND (B) A STIFFENER HAVING A RESILIENCE GREATER THAN SAIDSHEET MATERIAL AND A WIDTH GREATER THAN SAID FLAP INSERTED INTO THE FOLDOF SAID OPEN EDGE PORTION OF SAID ONE POCKET PRIOR TO THE FORMATION OFSAID FLAP AND EFFECTIVE WHEN FOLDED INTO SAID FLAP AS IT IS FORMED TOINCREASE THE POCKET-CLOSING ABILITY OF SAID FLAP, SAID FOLDED BLANKBEING SEWN ALONG THE NONFOLDED EDGES TO CLOSE THE ENDS OF SAID POCKETS.